Young Christian Leaders' Alliance

The Declaration of Independence was not intended as the instrument of legal separation from Britain.  So, what was its purpose?  Find out in the September issue of our YCLA newsletter!

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If you’ve been to a YCLA “Lead the Lemon” event, you’ve probably heard of the leadership acronym with the all-important word “L.O.V.E.”  This acronym stands for Look out for others, Organize to meet their needs, Visualize success, and Enter action.  However, this acronym does not give an applicable leadership model for everyday influence and service.  How does one actually practice servant-leadership? 

The quick answer is that servant-leadership is more a spirit or attitude than a set of actions.  The best goal is simply to exemplify character qualities such as meekness, wisdom, diligence, and yes, compassion and love.  While this answer is correct, the YCLA realizes that actual actions will result from such an attitude.  Thus, we have put together the acronym S.E.R.V.E. to help you remember how to face leadership issues in your everyday life. It is as follows: 

1. See a problem that needs to be fulfilled. 

2. Envision a solution to the problem. 

3. Respond to the problem with appropriate action. 

4. Verify the results of your response. 

5. Equip others to do the same thing.  

Look for more detail on this newly formulated “cycle” of service principles in future YCLA resources!

Find out more about YCLA church/school events like Lead the Lemon

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Did you know that John Hancock, President of the Second Continental Congress, wrote that the Declaration of Independence did not make America free from Britain?  Find out why in the August edition of the YCLA newsletter!

The YCLA is currently looking for people who would like to publish brief essays, stories, original poems, or simple research articles relevant to our mission of training, equipping, and motivating others to proclaim Christ.  We would be interested in content having to do with America's Godly heritage, leadership issues, Biblical studies especially regarding creation science, current opportunities for action, and more.  If you have ideas or contributions you would like to make in this area, please contact me as soon as possible. 

Beginning this fall, the YCLA would like to begin creating our newsletter in four-page format.  At the same time, however, I will be beginning law college next week, so I will not be able to do near as much on these kinds of long-term projects as I could previously.  Any amount of help would be greatly appreciated.  You can email the YCLA anytime at yclalliance@gmail.com. Thanks!  :-)

In Christ,

R. Josiah Magnuson

YCLA President

What will you be doing this year to support your school?  Have you considered starting a prayer group to uphold your friends, leaders, and teachers before the Lord?  The YCLA will be pressing forward once again in the 2010-11 school year with our Operation Pi vision: a “Prayer Initiative” for our education, in which you can be a part! 

If you are not praying for your school, you are missing an amazing blessing God wants to give you.  However, even if you already pray for your school on your own, it is still a great idea to begin praying regularly with your friends.  Not only does this action allow you to better track God’s workings and acknowledge Him to others, it creates a spirit of teamwork between students with a heart for Christ. 

The YCLA has developed two web pages that can aid in assembling such a group.  Go to www.YCLAlliance.org/operationpi.htm for more info on this project and to join our Facebook page!  Or, for resources and support in getting started, you can check out www.YoungChristianLeaders.org/prayer.aspx.

You may also email yclalliance@gmail.com with any comments, questions, or ideas.  Thanks for working with us to reclaim America’s schools!

The Bible states in I Samuel 15:23,“Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” God is clear throughout His Word that rebellion against constituted authority, which He has set up, is a great evil.

Some today believe the American Founders rebelled against Great Britain when they fought the War of Independence. Modern readers of the 1776 Declaration have been taught to see the document as lawless and revolutionary (in today’s sense of the word).  The American Revolution has been compared to the French Revolution several years later, or to other rebellions, which actually would be better contrasted against the experience of the American colonists. If it is true that the American Founders were godly and wise men who upheld the Truth of Scripture, why would they carry out a rebellion against their king merely because of high taxes?  In fact, they did nothing of the sort. 

The War of Independence was fought to defend a country which had been free for over 150 years prior. The citizens of the American continent had been respected as Englishmen, but under their own legislatures rather than Parliament. With the accession of King George III there was a shift in the attitude toward the colonists. They began to be viewed as subjects of an empire, rather than people with equal rights as their colonial charters (or constitutions) demanded. 

The colonists began to protest. They even held events such as the Boston Tea Party in 1773, to keep unlawful acts from being enforced. Yet, very few people wereever harmed, and there were never any mobs in the streets or storming of castles, as in the French Revolution. The colonists sought every possible way to attain reconciliation with the king. However, on April 19, 1775, British soldiers invaded the inland of Massachusetts in the battles of Lexington and Concord. The British government had declared war on its own citizens. Still, the Continental Congress implored the king to cease this tyrannical treatment, sending him the conciliatory Olive Branch Petition. Instead of responding, the king declared the colonies to be in a state of rebellion. 

Finally, in December of 1775, the British government approved the Prohibitory Act, banning all trade with America and declaring the colonies out of the king’s protection. 

***  To be continued…

Dear friends,

July 2010 marks the third year that our YCLA group has existed as such. We praise God for the great impact we have been able to have so far, and pray that it will continue to grow in the future. Our vision for the next few months includes audio-video productions, increased church events, expanding Operation Pi (Prayer Initiative) for the coming school year, and re-creating the YoungChristianLeaders.org website as a leadership resource location.

Please join in prayer with us that God will give us opportunities to serve Him, and that others will catch the vision of young people mobilized for Christ!  You can now download one or more of our newest brochures. Then, print them out and give them to three of your friends!  There is one advertising the BEAMS system, one on the YCLA itself, and one presenting Christ as the Creator and Savior.  If you would like more information on how to support us, please email us at yclalliance@gmail.com.

Thanks so much!  We can't do it without you.  Keep leading for Christ as you follow Him.

For His Service,

The YCLA

By R. Josiah Magnuson, YCLA President

This past month, thanks to the prayers and support of many of you, and the skill and devotion

of the many trip organizers, I was able to spend ten days in Nicaragua on a senior class mission

trip through Kingsway Christian School. My group ministered to numerous children and

families in this Central American country. We were able to work with a team from King’s Castle

Ministries, a Latin American organization which trains kids, teens, and college students in

evangelism and missions.

When we first arrived in Nicaragua, I thought I knew what to expect, and in many ways I did. I

know what poverty means and have seen endless pictures of foreign countries. But nothing

could have prepared me for the actual experience. There are simply some things which can

never be done justice in a photograph. These things included, for me, such lessons as the

humanity and value of every person, true joy in Christ, and the power of relationships.

First, God impressed me with the fact that every person is a real human being with the same

needs and desires as everyone else. The Nicaraguans have a desire for food, for dignity, for

improvement, for love, just like anyone in the United States. They have so much less than us,

but they are no different. I already knew this fact with my mind. It’s a lot different to absorb it

into one’s soul.

Second, God gave me back a true joy in Him on this trip. Even though I’ve had a lot of

disappointments in my life, I realized that my heart can sing to Him no matter what is going on

around me. The kids in Nicaragua are a prime example of this joy. Many of them (and

especially the Christian kids) are enthused and energized people, showing huge smiles at the

slightest act of friendship, even amid constant stench, hunger, sickness, and political

uncertainty. We can learn much from the way the people of Nicaragua find satisfaction and

beauty in little things.

Third, I learned that relationships truly are more important than material “stuff.” Friendship is

indeed based on the intrinsic value of others. And, ministry can be built around friendship,

rather than around money. In America, it tends to be the case that ministry cannot happen

without material things. We wait to go on God’s vision until we have amassed a vast stockpile

of resources. But in Nicaragua, we learned that God can use anything He wants to. Whether

through a simple soccer game, or playing nose flutes, or praying for a sick mother, or doing

dramas with a gospel message, God brought light to people’s lives. We went into numerous

schools, a jail, a hospital, and an orphanage. In each place, we saw terrible and sometimes

unspeakable conditions. But in each place, Christ seemed to shine through us to work in the

hearts of those we ministered to. And thus, our group drew closer not only to the Nicaraguans,

but to each other as friends.

I had not expected to experience a country so modern and yet so unmaintained. I had not

expected to experience a city with streets where the smell of trash and smoke could not be

escaped. I had not expected to see such a low level of poverty on such a grand scale. But the

thing I may have least expected in Nicaragua was the lesson that joy is possible, in the middle of

it all. God can work in any place at any time, to fulfill the lives of those who trust Him.

I asked Oliver Morales, the 26-year-old leader of the King’s Castle team we worked with in Nicaragua, what he believed was the essence of leadership. He responded with four main points, which I will share here. –

RJM

1. Do it first. If you tell someone to do something, you must be willing to do it yourself (be an

example).

2. Keep your word. For example, if you say you will be on time and you are late you lose

credibility.

3. Be consistent. Showing forgiveness as a leader can be good, but not if you’ve already given a

warning. The rules must apply equally for everyone.

4. Have respect. The more respect you have for your team the more respect they will have for

you.

God’s will for leadership is not painted best in the stereotype of a handsome politician speaking across a vast expanse to thousands of cheering supporters. Nor is it best wrapped up in the media personalities who so smoothly express the news to us, or in the artists and architects who design elaborate symbols for our culture.  God indeed calls individuals to such places. But foremost, God’s will for leadership is one of largely unrecognized service, encouragement, communication, obedience, and character. We are called to “be an example;” to show others the Way of Christ with our lives.

The Way of Christ is not one in which we can shy away from responsibility. Contrariwise, we should do our very best in any position of leadership God gives us. But we must realize that purity of heart is a prerequisite for godly influence. God will not give us leadership if we love it more than Him.  Much as an arrow must be shot above the mark in order to hit a target, we must seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33) if we wish to bring about earthly change. It is in seeking not to be great, but to be good, that a Young Christian Leader is Rewarded.

-From the YCLA May newsletter